Funny, she never would have imagined coming back here. Her first exploration into the the wrecked ship had eneded with her being rapidly evicted by Cattina, but now the structure stood mysteriously empty, leaving no clue as to where the Empress had gone. An extended hunting trip had been cut short by yet another blizzard, and she had been forced to abandon her kill and seek shelter.
She hopped through the gaping hole in the ship's side, a fat elk haunch and leg held in her jaws. She dropped the piece and looked ruefully out at the snowstorm. The rest of her hard-won kill would be buried by the time the snow was over, and might have to be left to scavengers. It galled her, but she was rapidly learning that life was nothing like it was in the bards' tales. With a sigh, she plopped down on the floor, holding the leg between her paws and gnawing at the near-frozen meat. She wondered if Raven and Ryouta would be mad if she was late coming back to the cave. Well, she figured the worst she would get was a tongue-lashing and maybe a nip. They were scary, but she didn't think--for the moment, at least--that they were going to kill her. Besides, she would need to face up to them eventually, when the spring melt came.
Her eyes strayed outside again, and she wondered if anyone else was caught in the blizzard. She was no tundra wolf, but likely anyone else who lived here would be used to it."Speech"
